Brigade Structure:

Army of N. Virginia

Longstreets Corp.

Alexander’s Battallion

Lt. Colonel Phill Matteson

Major Craig McCann

Captain Mike Karnitz

NCOs:

1 First Sergeant

1 quartermaster Corporal

2 Corporals

Ordinance:

2 – 3" Light Artillery with Limbers

Phone Numbers:

Lt. Col. Phill Matteson-(716) 694-0947

Major Craig McCann-(585) 225-8984

$50.00 Family

Dues are due ASAP.

Let’s get them Yankees. Maybe Pickett’s Charge will work better this time.

Gettysburg Dates Changed:  Now August 8-10, 2003

See back page.

We have an unscheduled event June 21st-22nd at Wheatfield, NY. Anyone interested please contact me, Phill or Craig. We have the Brockport School on June 20th and Wheatfield is just north of North Tonawanda. About an hours drive from Brockport. Doug Taylor will be there and has asked for assistance as he has a light crew. We might have a Mountain Howitzer (Little Nick) there also.

I will be sending out a directions packet for Gettysburg and you may have it by the time this newsletter arrives. If you don't receive a packet please contact me as the event site is in a new location.

I must commend all our members that were at Letchworth. We all had a great time. The battles went well, except for the cannon hit that never came. The camping was great. Arriving Friday night amidst the drizzle and being the first event I was Captain, I wasn't sure how things were going to turn out. On Saturday when Craig finally arrived and the skies cleared. My apprehension left me and I left the worrying to Sgt. Meiers, who did and excellent job in that category. Sgt. Meiers also did a fine job keeping the camp running smoothly, now if he can only find his fly. I also wish to thank those that lent a hand to Eric and Eileen. With our help and camaraderie they learned a lot about artillery in a short time and I feel will become friends of Bedford. They will be at Gettysburg, so be sure to welcome them warmly when we run into them, unfortunately they will not be able to bring their gun. Again I thank all for a great first event for this year.

The following web sites are included for your convenience for updates on Gettysburg.

http://www.alexandersbattalion.org/Gburg140th.htm

http://www.alexandersbattalion.org/questionsanswers.htm

http://www.alexandersbattalion.org/Generals%20Message.htm

http://www.alexandersbattalion.org/Gettysburg%20Links.htm

http://www.gettysburgreenactment.com/

Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of General Jack Travis I would like to inform you that the 140th
Gettysburg Anniversary Event has been officially rescheduled. The new dates
for the event is August 8, 9, & 10. This is due to the enormous amount of
rainfall that the eastern portion of the country has experienced this Spring
leaving the event area saturated. Hopefully this month extension will cure
that problem.
Those of you who will not be able to make the transition from July to August may ask for a refund. If you do wish a refund, it must be done in reverse order from the way it was initially made. Refunds will be issued to those responsible for registering, in other words if a card was used then the refund will go back to that card holder, if a check was written then the refund will be given to that individual who wrote the check.

Those of you who made reservations at the Hampton Inn should immediately cancel those reservations and attempt new ones for August dates.

Here is a link to the Official Gettysburg Announcement.
http://www.gettysburgreenactment.com/
Also, the official press release is attached.
As far as artillery goes, everything stays the same, just five weeks later.

I Remain in Your Service,

Lt. Colonel Larry Pittman
Adjutant, Longstreet's Corps Artillery
140th Gettysburg

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Confederate Artillery,
We spoke with the GAC today concerning the situation with artillery. This what we have agreed upon. The GAC will accept substitutions and Additional (new) registrations from artillery units who are now accepted for the 140th Gettysburg. Accepted units are those listed on our website TO&E.....http://www.alexandersbattalion.org/Gburg140th.htm

What we need from you is this:
The GAC needs the registration additions and substitutions preferably from the point of contact, basically the person who originally registered your unit.

What I need is:
How many you will now have in attendance, your need for tentage either less or more, and if you will not be able to bring your gun's). At this time we have officially lost only one gun. We will wait a week or so to see how this situation affects the overall number of guns. General Travis and his staff will then decide, and coordinate with the GAC, who will be asked to bring in additional artillery. Hopefully everyone will be able to fulfill their original commitment.

So, the GAC needs names and $, and I need numbers (people, tents, & guns).

The GAC will be changing the letters they have published to clear up the phase which reads "Note: Artillery registration remains closed. It is closed to additional guns and units only at this time. So, substitute and add as you may.

I hope this helps answer a few questions.

I Remain in Your Service,

Lt. Colonel Larry Pittman
Adjutant, Longstreet's Corps Artillery
140th Gettysburg

Greetings to everyone!

The season is now underway with the completion of the "School of the Piece" at Old Fort Niagara and our first event at Letchworth State Park. I enjoyed both engagements and hope y'all did, too. It was a pleasure to get together again after the peculiarly nasty winter we all suffered through.

The school kept me busy throughout Saturday with mostly "green" trainees. It was a challenge since I have very few opportunities nowadays to actually work on a gun. However, my co-instructor Capt. Mike Karnitz kept me from making any truly foolish mistakes and we made it through the day. Thanks, Mike!

The non-green cannoneers that joined in on our second set of instruction were three individuals trying out for the gunner position, including our own Cpl. Barry Hoffman. This year the school did away with the "trick-and-fool" style of gunner testing and asked me to incorporate gunner testing into the actual training of new cannoneers. This was a very realistic scenario that tested the gunners ability to observe and adjust as needed to accomplish a safe use of artillery. I found it to be a successful experiment and should become part of the schools gunner testing. All three gunners were awarded their gunners position. Congratulations, Barry!

In spite of it being a short weekend for me, Letchworth turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable event and I hope it was for all of you. I found it to be "laid back" and just plain fun to be there. It was a pleasure to "toss the stars" and work my own gun. We had a great crew and Cpl. Melayne Karnitz experienced being gunner for the first time in the field. I feel she did a fine job and I'm sure the rest of the crew would agree! Saturday evening around the campfire reminded me of "old times" and of what reenacting should be about. I don't want to sound greedy for a good time but I would truly like more moments like that throughout this season.

I did notice (and on several points it was brought to my attention) that there are still bits of confusion over the drill. We know there are acceptable variances with respect to the NCWAA "guidelines" but our battery has adopted a specific drill that is described in the Bedford Light drill manual written and compiled by Capt. Mike Karnitz. We all should take the effort to become fully familiar with this manual and bring the confusion on the field to an end. Yes, read it ! If you need a copy of the manual, please contact Capt. Karnitz.

The 140th anniversary reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg is quickly nearing. I hope to see all of you there and ready to do your duty. Planning for the event continues and Lt. Col. Phill Matteson and I will keep you informed as best we can as information is given to us. I encourage you to plan to arrive no later than Thursday afternoon, July 3rd, as this is proving to be a huge event. I'm told registration is approaching 28,000 reenactors and is climbing.

I have asked Cpl. Barry Hoffman to be my adjutant for the event and he has accepted. His rank will be brevet Lt. for the duration of the event. If he is needed on the field during the battle scenarios then he will be temporarily released from my service to aid Capt. Karnitz in staying the Yankee hordes.

At the event, the Bedford Light Artillery will be one of the units comprising the 1st Battery of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Corps. It will be joined by the Bedford Light Artillery from New Mexico and one other unit, yet to be determined as I write this. The Bedford Light Artillery from New Mexico has been sent a copy of our drill manual and, according to my correspondence with them, they are drilling "according to the book" and will be ready for the event (a good reason for us to know our own manual and be well practiced ourselves).

The internment of the crew of the CSS Hunley is scheduled to take place next April. I will not be hauling Hoss to the ceremony but I plan on attending and hope many of you will be able to make the journey.

Looking forward to a great season!

Your Obedient Servant,

Maj. Craig F. McCann
Bedford Light Artillery,
Alexander's Battalion,
Longstreet's Corps, C.S.A.

GETTYSBURG MOVED:

Now August 8-10, 2003

Excerpts of a note of interest from Col. Jack Travis on Gettysburg:

Gettysburg Event Moved: Now

August 8-10, 2003.

" Time is getting close for our major event. Everyone is excited and that's great! However, we must get ourselves prepared for the unforeseen and possible emergency situations. I am suggesting that you make sure all of your men under your command are ready. It has been called to my attention that because of all of the rain at Gettysburg there is a strong possibility of the infestation of insects, mainly mosquitoes, ticks and no-see-ums. So, your men might want to bring the necessary repellents and medications to fit the situation.

Without saying, everyone knows it's going to be hot and humid. It would be best if we would drink items that would replace electrolytes, such as sport type drinks like Gatorade, etc. I would advise that soft drinks not be consumed. It would be better to drink water. Physical exertion should be kept at a slow pace and with limitations.
Overall stress should be avoided, especially with individuals having health problems or us seniors. There will be ample medical facilities on site. We have been promised a more than ample supply of water, ice, firewood and the necessary rooms (with night lights?)! The event coordinators have assured Gen. Maupin and myself that the above will be in ample supply.

All commanders are responsible for their men and should make sure that everyone is hydrated before they take the field and that each battery has an ample supply of ice, water, etc.
Our medical officer, Lt. Col. James Mills, will be our focal point for any emergencies that the artillery may have. Of course, he is only one person and can only be in so many places at one time.
The way the battle scenarios are working out, we will be spread out into batteries, sections, etc. This will put a greater emphasis on safety. We must be very conscious of our overall safety when being split up; however, this will give a more historically correct and realistic artillery scenario."

In view of the quote above we have done quite well in the past in dealing with the heat and maintaining our health. However, in addition to the suggestions regarding the insect problem, here is a technique that has worked well for those of us who have experienced it in the past:

1) Set up your tent first, before unloading other items.
2) Spray the entire ground inside the tent with a good home & garden insect spray. Avoid getting it on the canvas walls as much as possible but don't worry about getting it on the sod cloth if your tent has one. Try not to "fumigate" yourself, either.
3) Spray around the outside of the tent for about one foot distance. Again, avoid getting the spray on the canvas walls.
4) Close the flaps and let the spray settle and dry while unloading other items
5) After the spray has a chance to settle and dry, install the ground cloth edge to edge, forming a seal and you're "good to go".
6) As evening approaches keep the flaps tightly closed to keep out flying insects.
7) Renew the spray around the outside edge each evening just before the sun goes down.

The best sprays are the kind that are "squeeze grip pump" rather than spray cans. They can be adjusted to avoid over spray on the canvas and create the best coverage without creating a choking fog. These sprays can be obtained in gallon size (it will last several re-enactments) with spray hose & hand pump attached at most garden stores as well as Home Depot, Walmart, etc.

You can also purchase mosquito netting to hang over your sleeping area inside the tent.